Lifting Knowledge Please

Jackie9950

OK, so I have been eating healthy and exercising for 101 days (gotta love that day counter on MFP). I try to stay within my macros and eat as healthy as possible. Understand, this is coming from a chocoholic, so this is a big accomplishment for me. After spending some time on the forums, I started trying to eat more protein and have invested in protein powder. My mother sees a cardiologist who has told her that it' best to try to eat things rich in protein and to eat less carbs and sugar. Our family has a history of cholesterol issues, diabetes, high liver enzymes, and are an obese bunch. So, I took that as advice to try as well. I still end up with around 100 (or so) carbs... If that makes sense. The weight is coming off SLOOOOWWWW. It's frustrating, but it's coming off and that is what matters!

When I started exercising I focused primarily on cardio (treadmill, elliptical, Arc trainer, bike... you get the idea). I got a gym membership at Planet Fitness I really like doing the 30 minute circuit. Over the last 2 months I have been incorporating the circuit into my workout routine. I workout 5-6 days a week doing cardio 4 days, and 2 day of doing both circuit and cardio. I exercise about 45 min - 90 min a day. Over the last month I have tried to do less reps but lift heavier on the circuit, which seems to be working my muscles a little harder or I feel more sore afterwards...

My question (you thought I would never get to it, huh?) is how does one decide on a lifting routine? I would like to be able to have "lifting days" where I do legs one day and arms the next, and back another, so on so forth. I just am not sure how to start, which machines to use, how often I should increase weight, etc, etc. I would really like to see what everyone else started out with, websites that will build a routine for me, advice, whatever you got. I have no direction right now and am just doing whatever.

Just remember, I am not made for these forums and will cry if you get mean.

Thanks in advance.

madhatter2013

Oh Oh Oh pick me pick me

Okay so when I started my journey I did just cardio. Three times a week for 3 months. Then I started having knee pains. Everytime I would get on that bike, or oliptical, or whatever else, I would dread the pain and only workout for a few minutes. I came to the forums where someone sais something about squats helping. This made me do some research and I found that StrongLifts 5X5 was the routine for me. It it great for beginners to get into the habit of lifting and gain the knowledge essential for proper lifting. This program is a great gateway program to move onto other programs or make up your known when you've properly educated yourself on lifting and form. I haven't done cardio since. Oh an my knee? I taped it for 2 weeks just to be safe and the pain was completely gone after that.

freqzinbigd

Starting strength or Stronglifts 5x5 would be the obvious starting points.

Everyone starts somewhere so find a program and stick with it. Program your lifts and lift *your* program Go get strong!

kguerriere

"madhatter2013;32824371"]Oh Oh Oh pick me pick me

.....StrongLifts 5X5 was the routine for me. It it great for beginners to get into the habit of lifting and gain the knowledge essential for proper lifting.

I also recommend StrongLifts 5x5 for beginners! Partially quoting madhatter2013 because ... TRUTH!

Jackie9950

madhatter2013 wrote: »

Oh Oh Oh pick me pick me

Okay so when I started my journey I did just cardio. Three times a week for 3 months. Then I started having knee pains. Everytime I would get on that bike, or oliptical, or whatever else, I would dread the pain and only workout for a few minutes. I came to the forums where someone sais something about squats helping. This made me do some research and I found that StrongLifts 5X5 was the routine for me. It it great for beginners to get into the habit of lifting and gain the knowledge essential for proper lifting. This program is a great gateway program to move onto other programs or make up your known when you've properly educated yourself on lifting and form. I haven't done cardio since. Oh an my knee? I taped it for 2 weeks just to be safe and the pain was completely gone after that.

Stronglifts 5X5. Researching it now! Thank you for the comment and the enthusiasm!

jenncalicollins617

Yep, SL for sure. Coming from a 40+yo mom of 5 who had no lifting experience at all. And was deathly afraid of the gym & now thinks I own it
And I can lift more than my hubby!

IsaacKremer

You should check out Bodbot.com. It's free and provides you with some pretty good workout routines. It doesn't give you "[Insert area here] Days", but it lets you know which area you will be working on with the specific workouts. Just plug in your details, what goals you hope to accomplish, and how often you plan to workout, and it will give you a plan to get there.

mcr0980

madhatter2013 wrote: »

Oh Oh Oh pick me pick me

Okay so when I started my journey I did just cardio. Three times a week for 3 months. Then I started having knee pains. Everytime I would get on that bike, or oliptical, or whatever else, I would dread the pain and only workout for a few minutes. I came to the forums where someone sais something about squats helping. This made me do some research and I found that StrongLifts 5X5 was the routine for me. It it great for beginners to get into the habit of lifting and gain the knowledge essential for proper lifting. This program is a great gateway program to move onto other programs or make up your known when you've properly educated yourself on lifting and form. I haven't done cardio since. Oh an my knee? I taped it for 2 weeks just to be safe and the pain was completely gone after that.

I've had the same issues with knee pain! I play lacrosse and so run A LOT, and my knees don't enjoy that or the off-season elliptical work. I've just started lifting again, and it's already helping me feel better with that pain. How does Stronglifts 5x5 work?

annaskiski

There's a sticky at the top that explains the program.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

mcr0980

For OP, my lifting schedule is supposed to be like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Quads/calves
Wednesday: Shoulders (I hate Wednesdays...)
Thursdays: Back (one of my faves!)
Fridays: Triceps
Saturdays: Biceps
Sundays: Hamstrings

For exercises that work each area, either google it or try bodybuilding.com. I love that website, my boyfriend always sends me the links to exercises there. They show you form and explain how to do it for each gender. It's perfect! Because form is really important. I'll be honest, a lot of weeks I don't get to my Friday/Saturday workout so I'll cycle another weekday workout out to make up for it. You can also combine days, like biceps/triceps and quads/calves/hamstrings, but those workouts will be grueling to say the least (read: LEG DAY).

You don't have to follow this exactly! I also incorporate forearm strengthening a couple times a week; I have difficulties sometimes due to weak forearms/wrists. I do cardio every once in awhile but honestly lifting is a great workout on its own.

Azexas

Choosing a gym routine kind of boils down to what you would like to accomplish.

Personally, I'm another vote for Strong lifts. It's simple and straight forward. The exercises target a large number of muscles. The app is very user friendly. Every planet fitness is different- does yours have Olympic bars and a squat rack? You may find it difficult to do Strong lifts without these items.

annaskiski

Also, there's an app you can get on your phone.....
You can change the weights, number of lifts per set, etc..

Jackie9950

Troutsy wrote: »

Choosing a gym routine kind of boils down to what you would like to accomplish.

Personally, I'm another vote for Strong lifts. It's simple and straight forward. The exercises target a large number of muscles. The app is very user friendly. Every planet fitness is different- does yours have Olympic bars and a squat rack? You may find it difficult to do Strong lifts without these items.

I have no idea if it does. I will ask/look, when I go in tomorrow morning

Jackie9950

annaskiski wrote: »

There's a sticky at the top that explains the program.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

perfect, thanks!

Jackie9950

mcr0980 wrote: »

For OP, my lifting schedule is supposed to be like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Quads/calves
Wednesday: Shoulders (I hate Wednesdays...)
Thursdays: Back (one of my faves!)
Fridays: Triceps
Saturdays: Biceps
Sundays: Hamstrings

For exercises that work each area, either google it or try bodybuilding.com. I love that website, my boyfriend always sends me the links to exercises there. They show you form and explain how to do it for each gender. It's perfect! Because form is really important. I'll be honest, a lot of weeks I don't get to my Friday/Saturday workout so I'll cycle another weekday workout out to make up for it. You can also combine days, like biceps/triceps and quads/calves/hamstrings, but those workouts will be grueling to say the least (read: LEG DAY).

You don't have to follow this exactly! I also incorporate forearm strengthening a couple times a week; I have difficulties sometimes due to weak forearms/wrists. I do cardio every once in awhile but honestly lifting is a great workout on its own.

I might just end up copying your routine Everyone has given me a good start to research!

Azexas

Jackie9950 wrote: »

Troutsy wrote: »

Choosing a gym routine kind of boils down to what you would like to accomplish.

Personally, I'm another vote for Strong lifts. It's simple and straight forward. The exercises target a large number of muscles. The app is very user friendly. Every planet fitness is different- does yours have Olympic bars and a squat rack? You may find it difficult to do Strong lifts without these items.

I have no idea if it does. I will ask/look, when I go in tomorrow morning

If your PF doesn't have them you can do the exercises with dumb bells, but they may not be as effective.

geekandgranola

There are a lot of great training programs for beginners online but what is your goal? Is it to lost weight only? Build muscle? Increase strength? Is there a certain body part you want to pay special attention to (for example, I do extra glute training)? There are a couple of different routes you can take for each but Stronglifts is a great place to start.

When you say the circuit do you mean the pre-organized circuit of machines at Planet Fitness? What kinds of weights and setsxreps are you doing with the circuit?

What does your cardio routine currently look like?

I have many questions!

marvybells

Another vote for SL 5x5.

If your gym doesn't have a squat rack here is a link for info on lifting with dumbbells only:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/902569/barbell-routines-when-you-only-have-dumbbells/p1

*edit to add that I agree with the others that have stated that a full body routine with compound moves is ideal. I would look into finding a new gym that has a squat rack or power cage if yours doesn't, but the above link will give you some good options for lifting in the meantime.

geekandgranola

Oh and what are your current macro goals?

erickirb

mcr0980 wrote: »

For OP, my lifting schedule is supposed to be like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Quads/calves
Wednesday: Shoulders (I hate Wednesdays...)
Thursdays: Back (one of my faves!)
Fridays: Triceps
Saturdays: Biceps
Sundays: Hamstrings

For exercises that work each area, either google it or try bodybuilding.com. I love that website, my boyfriend always sends me the links to exercises there. They show you form and explain how to do it for each gender. It's perfect! Because form is really important. I'll be honest, a lot of weeks I don't get to my Friday/Saturday workout so I'll cycle another weekday workout out to make up for it. You can also combine days, like biceps/triceps and quads/calves/hamstrings, but those workouts will be grueling to say the least (read: LEG DAY).

You don't have to follow this exactly! I also incorporate forearm strengthening a couple times a week; I have difficulties sometimes due to weak forearms/wrists. I do cardio every once in awhile but honestly lifting is a great workout on its own.

Why do you have a day dedicated to only biceps, hamstrings, and shoulders, and even hamstrings. They are smaller muscle groups, hammies less so, but don't need a day on their own. Seems like a lot of work that could be done much more efficiently in 2-4 days doing a full body routine focusing on compound lifts. If you don't like full body I would suggest either an upper body/lower body split, or a push/pull split, you will get much more out of any of these 3 methods vs. your current routine.

erickirb

Jackie9950 wrote: »

mcr0980 wrote: »

For OP, my lifting schedule is supposed to be like this:
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Quads/calves
Wednesday: Shoulders (I hate Wednesdays...)
Thursdays: Back (one of my faves!)
Fridays: Triceps
Saturdays: Biceps
Sundays: Hamstrings

For exercises that work each area, either google it or try bodybuilding.com. I love that website, my boyfriend always sends me the links to exercises there. They show you form and explain how to do it for each gender. It's perfect! Because form is really important. I'll be honest, a lot of weeks I don't get to my Friday/Saturday workout so I'll cycle another weekday workout out to make up for it. You can also combine days, like biceps/triceps and quads/calves/hamstrings, but those workouts will be grueling to say the least (read: LEG DAY).

You don't have to follow this exactly! I also incorporate forearm strengthening a couple times a week; I have difficulties sometimes due to weak forearms/wrists. I do cardio every once in awhile but honestly lifting is a great workout on its own.

I might just end up copying your routine Everyone has given me a good start to research!

Please don't, there is so much wrong with it, especially for a beginner.

JenAndSome

I am pretty sure all Planet Fitness has free personal trainers and they will work with you and give you a routine. When I first started a few years ago that is where I began. The trainer was pretty thorough and even watched us as we tried a few of the machines and recommended what weight to start with and when to increase the weight. Yes a barbell based program such as Stronglifts, Starting Strength or NROLFW would be a more efficient approach, but without knowing if your Planet Fitness has actual free weights or if you would have access to another gym, I would recommend using whatever tools you have available in the mean time.

FitForL1fe

didn't read the thread past the OP since the answer is simple:

as a new female lifter all you need to do is gain access to a barbell and squat/power rack and decide between:

stronglifts
starting strength
new rules of lifting for women

if you can't get that equipment at your gym then find a different gym

I know PF is cheap (I was a member for two years...) but there is a reason it is so cheap

lili61

Agree with the Stronglifts recommendations. I wouldn't bother doing splits (different body parts) as a few have recommended. A full body routine like Stronglifts should be great for you.

madhatter2013

FitForL1fe

lili61 wrote: »

Agree with the Stronglifts recommendations. I wouldn't bother doing splits (different body parts) as a few have recommended. A full body routine like Stronglifts should be great for you.

yeah splits are generally for bodybuilding, which is why they're usually full of accessory lifts...

the starter programs will focus on compound lifts

ALL U NEED

and some pullups and rows

done

Jackie9950

geekandgranola wrote: »

There are a lot of great training programs for beginners online but what is your goal? Is it to lost weight only? Build muscle? Increase strength? Is there a certain body part you want to pay special attention to (for example, I do extra glute training)? There are a couple of different routes you can take for each but Stronglifts is a great place to start.

When you say the circuit do you mean the pre-organized circuit of machines at Planet Fitness? What kinds of weights and setsxreps are you doing with the circuit?

What does your cardio routine currently look like?

I have many questions!

Losing weight is currently a major goal for me, but I would also like to be strong. I want definition and muscle. I ate using this word, but I don;t want to be "skinny fat". My highest weight was 226.8lbs, so I want to avoid gaining more loose skin. I am trying to get rid of my bat wings. I have a lot of tummy fat that seems to like to stick around while the rest of me is thinning out. LOL I have no delusions that I will be skinny and toned perfectly, I just would like to feel good in my own skin if that makes sense.

At PF they have an interval type circuit. 10 weight machines and 10 steps. You alternate between machine and step doing 1 minute each on them with 30 seconds in between the machines. The machines alternate between arms and legs and there is one machine that works abdominal muscles. I have a list of the machines in my exercise journal. But it's a variety of lifting, pulling, and whatnot. I usually do 70 lbs on legs and 40 lbs on arms and try to do at least 20-25 reps in the minute. This is a heavy lift for me. I can feel the burn

I always start out with 15-30 minutes on the treadmill at 3.5mph and 7% lift to warm everything up before the circuit. I usually go to the ARC or Elliptical afterwards for 30 minutes and do the trainer mode that tells you when to change directions, go a certain speed, etc. I honestly hate the bicycle and do it as little as possible.

On Sundays, I call this my Sweatfest day. I spend around 2 hours at the gym and do everything. 30 minutes Treadmill, 30 minutes circuit, 30 minutes elliptical, and 30 minutes ARC.

Ask away, if you can help I am all for it

Jackie9950

geekandgranola wrote: »

Oh and what are your current macro goals?

Whatever MFP told me to do:

P 23
F 27
C 50

I am usually right on with fat, low on carbs, and high on Protein.

Azexas

Jackie9950 wrote: »

geekandgranola wrote: »

Oh and what are your current macro goals?

Whatever MFP told me to do:

P 23
F 27
C 50

I am usually right on with fat, low on carbs, and high on Protein.

Fat and Protein you can look at more like minimums and carb as a maximum-Hopefully that made sense...coffee wearing off.

Jackie9950

JenAndSome wrote: »

I am pretty sure all Planet Fitness has free personal trainers and they will work with you and give you a routine. When I first started a few years ago that is where I began. The trainer was pretty thorough and even watched us as we tried a few of the machines and recommended what weight to start with and when to increase the weight. Yes a barbell based program such as Stronglifts, Starting Strength or NROLFW would be a more efficient approach, but without knowing if your Planet Fitness has actual free weights or if you would have access to another gym, I would recommend using whatever tools you have available in the mean time.

Our PF is new. Opened in April this year. They have 1 PT and he has 5 sessions that are for building your own workout plan. 4 of them are while I am at work, and the other one is late at night and he always has a full schedule wise.

gurlofgod

My gym offers BodyPump classes, which I LOVE! Really helped me to learn proper form and it works all the muscles!!